Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-04
EcOsNsssy,

In these days of "hard times" anything
that will serve to "lighten and brighten the
road" seems almost a godsend. The prob
lem OF household economy is a great one,
and one that many fail to solve; and it
must be solved in a great degree by the
women, not ladies', but the common.sense
women, the ~workingmen's wives, that strug-
gle from day to day, from week to week,
and looking forward into the dreary future
see nothing but the same hopeless strug-
gle. 10 you, my sisters, I would speak q
few words of cheer. You remember in on
old song this refrain: "There is never
more night than day." Let us have an en-
perience meeting, and 1 will relate my own
experience. In my early married days the
doctors carriage was oftenest ut our gate,
and the bills grew and grew as rapidly as
Jacks beanstalk. We were poor and dis
couraged. and that, with poor health, kept
the black cloud lowering over us much
larger than q mans hand. Then our baby
boy came, a weak, punv, and consequently
a very fretful, baby. The doctor was o
daily visitor, VIC lived beyond our income,
and could not help it, Ithen thought. But
after many days the cloud lifted, not all at
once, but it began to show a silver lining.
l learned that when tired and nervous if /
took a sitz Tor sitting bath, warm enough
to be pleasant, that | was rested and my
nerves soothed. When baby was cross
and feverish q warm bath was much better
than powders and pills. 1 learned that
eating graham bread, oatmeal porridge,
vegetables, md fruits we'll cooked kept
that sociable, atfable but seldom welcome
visitor away. The baby began to increase
IN stature and weight, and to look as a
baby should, when one cold night, never to
be forgotten, he awakened us with that
dreadful bark. Not a moment to spare,
two miles TO n physician, fires out, and our
baby gasping for breath! What did we do?
Pater-familias rushed to the kitchen, got
some lard and held it in a spoon over the
lamp to melt; while he was doing that I
was wringing, not my hands, but a towel
out of cold water md laying it on his
throat and lungs. When the lard was
melted we gave it to him. While we were
Father for our little ones life, and in if
teen minutes I was the happiest mother on
Gods earth. Our boy said "Oh, mammal"
He could talk and breathe. Soon Mr.. J.
bought a goose, and now I lave plenty of
oil for my neighbors and myself. don't
wait until I hear the Group bark, but hard
breathing and hoarseness always causes
the "goose grease" bottle to come forth,
and then the soles of the feet, nose, chest.
and back are oiled, and now 1 am rot
afraid of Group. When our boy was 3
years old q darling girl baby came to bless
us with her presence. l had been prepar-
ing for her by dieting, bathing, and morn
ing maps; was careful not to overwork,
tried 10 keep good-natured, cast my corsets
aside forever, and when she came, a good
%natured, healthy baby, 1 felt fully repaid.
I never rocked her to sleep, just laid her
on her bed and she went to sleep without
any trouble. OF course I had to let her
"cry it out" a few times, but that did not
hurt her, and as 1 did all my work 1 could
not spare the time to rock her to sleep. I
often played with her and never neglected
her, but did not spoil her. She cut her
teeth easily, has never been sick, never
taken n drop of medicine, and is over 3
years old. She is the light of the home.
By studying, but mostly by experience, We
have learned to use the water cure for
simple disorders; have cured the ague and
bilious fever with it, and We feel very in
dependent of the doctor. OF course there
are times when he is needed, but not
often, and when that no small item of en-
pense is shut off you may feel sure that
better days are dawning. There are other
ways of lessening household expenses,
viz, dress palmer. furnish home as you
need, not as you want. food that is plain,
wholesome, and we'll cooked, but I will not
touch upon them in this article.-Mrs Fl.